"If you see both the innings so far, the new ball did the trick for bowlers in both teams. More than the pitch or conditions, it is the new ball.

"Initially it tends to swing a bit more, and once it gets older it becomes much easier to bat. That is what is happening in the middle. Hopefully, Rohit (Sharma) and Ajinkya (Rahane) can build a big partnership," said Vijay.

'Maybe in the next innings we can play better'

The opener scored 26 runs, stemming the collapse after Shikhar Dhawan (0), Cheteshwar Pujara (1) and Virat Kohli (4) were sent back with only 10 runs on the board.

India need to score another 304 runs to get past the home team.

He built a partnership with Rohit, but was undone when a brilliant delivery from left-arm seamer Neil Wagner knocked back his off-stump.

"The New Zealand bowlers were obviously swinging the ball. But we could have played much better. Maybe in the next innings we can do that," he said.

Asked about the delivery that got him out, Vijay replied, "I just need to get it off my system. I think I batted well; I was feeling good inside. I just wanted to have a partnership with Rohit. That was the plan. But it couldn't go my way.

"The pitch is still very good for batting. So I am hoping we can go close to their score and put pressure on them," he added.